There have been numerous pandemics throughout recorded history, and some were much longer than others.
As almost every reader now knows, the first outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in Wuhan, China at the end of December 2019. At present, we’re now heading into the fall and winter of 2021 and there’s still no clear end in sight. Surely, someday, the current pandemic will end but many of us are wondering when that fateful day will ever grace us with its presence. If you feel the same way, you’re not alone!
Sometimes when hope is hard to find, it can be good to look to the past for a glimmer of light. Pandemics have happened before and humanity has resurfaced. Of course, we didn’t come out unscathed, but we’re still here.
Here’s a look at other pandemics in history and how long it took them to run their course.
1) The Plague of Justinian (541-542 CE… sort of)
We’re starting with the most dismal of the dismal. The black plague that later ransacked all of Europe and other parts of the world first showed its head way back in 541 AD.
The first outbreak occurred in Constantinople in 542. The plague soon spread through common trade routes throughout Asia, North Africa, Europe, and Arabia on the fleas sitting on the backs of black rats. According to National Geographic, the disease killed somewhere between 30 and 50 million people in a very short time. (The coronavirus has killed somewhere between 4 and 5 million people worldwide, to date).
To put that in perspective, the Justinian Plague killed off about 40% of the entire population of Constantinople. The even scarier part is that once the plague appeared, it didn’t really ever go away for the next 225 years. And then it disappeared but came back in the 14th century CE.
The fantastic news is that while the bubonic plague is still present on earth, antibiotics now exist to treat it.
2) The Black Death (1347-1351)
More plague! (Hey, but if you’re alive now, somehow your ancestors beat it, so that’s inspiring).
In 1347, a dozen ships arrived at the Sicilian port of Messina from the Black Sea. Most sailors on board were already dead and those who were alive were sick and headed that way. The ships were ordered out of the harbor but the damage had already crept to shore. About 20 million people, or one-third of Europe- would die from the Black Death as a result in the next five years.
Strangely enough, those who did survive the Black Death went on to have improved health and longevity. Nature is certainly weird.
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3) The Seven Cholera Pandemics (1817-1961)
Let’s first clarify. The global cholera pandemic didn’t start in 1817 and run continuously until 1961, (thank goodness). Cholera is a disease you can get by drinking or eating contaminated water or food. It can cause dangerous levels of diarrhea that can be deadly.
The seven cholera pandemics in history originated in the following places:
1st India 1817-1824
2nd India 1829-1851
3rd India 1852-1859
4th India 1863-1879
5th India 1881-1896
6th India 1899-1923
7th Indonesia 1961-present
Poor India, it seems a bit unfair. The great news is that, unlike with the black plague, only about 20% of people who develop cholera have severe symptoms. The bad news is that when it strikes hard, you could die within hours.
Millions of people have died from cholera worldwide in the past two centuries and there are now many ways to treat it but the 7th cholera pandemic is still ongoing. The main problem causing cholera to persist is a lack of clean drinking water in developing countries and places being hit by war and natural disasters.
4) The Flu Pandemic (1889-1890)
You hear a lot about the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 these days, but there was another flu scourge. In 1889 a subtype of Influenza A arose around the globe in various far flung places at the same time. Cases sprang up in Turkestan, Canada, and Greenland, simultaneously. Throughout the next year, over a million people died.
5) The Asian Flu Pandemic (1956-1958)
The Asian Flu of recent years started in the Chinese province of Guizhou and lasted two years, taking the lives of about 2 million people. Thankfully, the strain of the flu that caused this pandemic no longer circulates in humans. (It is present in animals, however). A vaccine exists to help prevent it.
It’s clear that some pandemics last longer than others. While it’s difficult to accurately predict when the COVID-19 pandemic will be over, experts are hopeful it could be done sort of soon. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US infectious disease expert, estimates our pandemic could start to come under control by the spring of 2022. We can hope.
photo credits: illustrissima/Shutterstock.com
